Google and Facebook are two very different platforms. One is a search engine and the other is a social networking site. Both of these platforms can be used for effective digital marketing. However, a thing that is common for both these platforms is how they generate most of their revenue. The pay per click advertising strategy is what Google and Facebook derive their revenue from. This blog compares the top display advertising online tools, i.e., the google display network with Facebook’s advertising.
Display ads consist of image ads, video ads, and banner ads. Display advertising on Google Ads (Adwords) allows advertisers to put up their ads on sites like YouTube, Gmail, and millions of other partner websites, instead of putting on the search result pages. Facebook display marketing, on the other hand, consists of text, image, and video ads which the advertisers use to target a specific set of audience. Here is how the two are different:
1. Reach
Considering that they are the top display advertising online tools, both Facebook and Google have good advertising reach. Google display network has a wider reach as it comprises of YouTube, Gmail, and numerous partner websites. Thus it can reach a large number of people all over the world. With approximately 2 billion users, ads on Facebook reach a large number of people too. Though, the Facebook ad network results in more page impressions.
Know how to increase organic reach on Facebook, in our blog: 7 TESTED METHODS TO INCREASE ORGANIC REACH ON FACEBOOK.
2. Ad targeting options
Both Facebook and Google allow advertisers to target their ads based on their goals and customers.
- Facebook Ad targeting options: For targeting customers, Facebook gives advertisers 3 options to choose from i.e, core audience, custom audience, and lookalike audience. The Core audience option allows you to choose the target audience based on demographics (age, gender, education, workplace, etc.), location (countries, states, regions, etc.), interests, and behavior. Custom audience option allows you to connect with current customers, people who follow your business page, or users of your mobile app. Lookalike audiences allow advertisers to target people who are similar to the current customers of the brand.
- Google Display Ad targeting options: On the Google display network, advertisers can target audiences based on keywords, interests, demographics, etc. Through keyword targeting, advertisers select keywords for which the ads will appear. Interest targeting is based on interest groups, the search engine puts users into a search group based on their web-behavior. Placement targeting allows advertisers to show their ads on certain specified domains. Topic targeting displays ads on websites that fall under the theme of the website that they are placed on. Demographic targeting allows advertisers to target audiences based on their age, gender, education, job, etc.
3. Ad formats
Google and Facebook are the top display advertising online tools. This is because they offer ads to be placed in a variety of formats.
- Facebook ad formats: Ads on Facebook are divided into three categories: Awareness, consideration, and conversion. Awareness ads increase visibility, consideration ads compel users to take action, and conversion ads are aimed at turning page visitors into customers. Ads on Facebook are of the following formats: Video Ads, Image ads, Collection ads (Advertisers can display a catalog of products), Carousel ads (These ads show 10 videos or images in a single ad. Each of the ads has its own links.), Lead generation ads (These help businesses to generate leads from Facebook and Instagram), Event ads and Page like ads
- Google display network ad formats: While doing display advertising on google ads (AdWords), advertisers can choose text, image, interactive, or video ads. Text ads consist of a heading, two lines of text, and a URL. Image ads allow advertisers to use relevant images with customized layouts as advertisements. Interactive ads allow the viewers to interact with the image ads and these change depending on how the viewer engages with the ad. Video ads can be placed on YouTube or other sites to showcase products and services in an engaging and interesting manner. To know how to monetize videos on Youtube, read our blog: MONETIZE VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE: THE BASIC GUIDE.
4. Average CTR
As of January 2018, the average CTR of the google display network ads was 0.35% for all industries. While Facebook ads have a CTR of approximately 0.81%.
Both the top display advertising online tools offer advertisers an effective way to promote products, services, or brands to a target audience. With the number of ad formats and targeting options, Facebook and Google display ads are a good way to build brand awareness and increase conversions.
